This is Ben from Sweet Annie Produce. He’s a handsome son of a bitch ain’t he? Well, this here photo of Mr. Ben got me an “Honorable Mention” in this year’s Fine Arts Fiesta in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

While I encourage you to go to the Fiesta and see this photo in all it’s framed glory, I really encourage you to take a nice drive to Lancaster and see Ben in person at the Lancaster Central Market and buy some of his veggies.

I got to talk with Ben for a few minutes and I could tell right away how much he loves what he does. You gotta support that kinda stuff.

There are people out there that care and people that are really excited about what they do and people that want to make a difference. There are Bens everywhere. Take the time to get to know them and support what they do. It’s a good thing. #support #shoplocal #feelhappyinside #ben

The Fine Arts Fiesta is scheduled for May 16-19, 2013 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Go and eat and listen to music and support local artists!

I will be photographing Service Industry Night at 279 Bar & Grill featuring Chef Michael Langdon of Hell’s Kitchen on May 6th. This prix fixe 3 course menu is currently booked, but more events like this will follow. It sold out within 24 hours! There will be $2 Domestic Drafts and $3 well mixers all night with live music starting at 10pm provided by the 279 House Band (featuring Tommy Wynder, Dylan Skursky, Andrew Jon Sleboda and Dustin Switzer)

Stop down and meet Chef Michael and check out the NEW 279 Bar & Grill!

I’m very excited to announce I’ll be shooting the Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival again this year. This is my third year shooting this fest and it’s one of my favorite events. In recent years they’ve had Josh Ritter, Avett Brothers, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Gogol Bordello, and Tedeschi Trucks Band.

This year Brandi Carlile, Delta Spirit, and Colin Hay are some of the headlining acts. Besides the great music, the food, vendors, and the staff make it an amazing time. Check it out! It’s an easy drive if you are in the PA, MD, NJ, NY, and DE vicinity.

It’s good to mix things up. I think working with a particular subject all the time can get boring and by trying something you’re not 100% used to, it keeps you on your toes. Maybe in some way it adds to the other subjects you typically work with. I think it can help you see things differently and make your experiences more enjoyable and maybe even easier.

I try my best to shoot events and subjects I’m not so familiar with. Along the way I get the chance to meet new people, I get presented with new challenges, and who knows, maybe a new door and a new opportunity will present itself. Possibility is always out there and sometimes it’s in places you’d never expect.
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I’ve been working  on new project for the band No Vacancy. They hired me last month to create their new cd, a t-shirt design, posters, and a few odds and ends designs for their social media pages. I’m really excited about this new artwork. I’m happy with what we have so far and can’t wait to show off the photos from the recent shoot. If you’re in the Northeastern Pa area and appreciate good rock/alt country, make sure to check them out. Their new cd ‘Hop in the Front Seat of Life’ is set to release on 04/27/13 and features ‘Skyline Drive’, ‘Lost’, and a great version of ‘Copperhead Road’ by Steve Earle.

A while ago, for fun, I started working on 11×17 posters of bands and celebs. They’re more for my enjoyment and it helps keep the creative juices flowing. It also adds something to my portfolio of what I can do for a client.

I combine elements of photography, design, and illustration, usually along with a lyric, tagline, or quote. I try to take celebs or bands in the news at that moment and create an interesting illustration. Some pieces are of movies or bands that may have no relevance at the moment, but I dig them, so I do it. You can check out some of them here in my gallery.

I never thought about selling the posters because I’m not sure of the legalities of using someone’s likeness, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing to create art and at least show it for free! (I hope not) So on occasion in between designing logos, business cards, cds, and t-shirts for clients, I’ll lock myself away for a bit and create. I try to keep it a very flowing and unstructured process. I crank up the music while I work and just have fun. It’s kind of therapeutic for me.

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My new project, ‘La Mécanique de L’Amour’ is a series of several designs that will mix vintage elements with my own design, photography, and writing. The first chapter, ‘La Petite Mort’ is full of hidden messages, subtle nuances, and artistic contrast revolving around two complicated topics, love and death. I feel there is a large similarity to the two. They both are unavoidable and they both can hurt like hell.

I’m creating these to explore the beautiful experiences of harsh realities. Each piece will have a quote from one of my poems, conversations, or shorts. Some blatant and truthful, some tongue in cheek with a nudge of snark. Each piece is being created with the helpful push and influence of music. I’m specifically engaging the topics and creation with the sonic influence of several bands such as Hum, Empire of the Sea, Sigur Rós, Caspian, O’Brother, Junius, Blueneck, and Cult of Luna. I suggest to hear these bands as you view my art. It will hopefully tell more of a story and help you see it more clearly.

In the end, I’m hoping to have a series of designs for sale as a Limited Edition set in my 1120 Store. I will post snippets of the creations along the way on the 1120 Twitter, 1120 Facebook, and here on the 1120 News page to give you a sense of it’s direction.

This Tuesday I will be attending  the viewing party for Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen Premiere!  It’s going to be held at HK in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. A good friend of mine and Wilkes-Barre native, Chef Michael Langdon is part of the Season 11 cast and has invited me along.

It should be pretty insane. I’m looking forward to shooting the event and meeting the cast. Each of the cast members there that night will be receiving a Special Limited Edition “Piss Off” t-shirt that I designed.You can see that new design in the t-shirt section of my gallery.

1120 Downloads for your computer, Facebook, and Apple devices are now available! There are several to chose from. I tried to use a nice mix of photography and art to create some wallpapers and Timeline covers from images and designs many of you commented on and liked.

It’s all pretty easy to do. If you’re unfamiliar with the process, directions are on the main downloads page. I hope to see some of these on your Facebook pages. Let me know if you’re using them!

I will be adding more options as time goes by. I have a few projects coming up that I’d like to use this resource to coincide with them as extras. I of course try to sell as much of my work as possible, but when I can give some freebies like this for people to enjoy (and I hope you do) I will continue to do so.

One download in particular, ‘It All Dies’, is from my new project ‘La Mécanique de L’Amour’ which will be available for sale as a Limited Edition item in the 1120 Store. I wanted to give a taste of what’s to come. More news on that project is on the way.

In the future, I may offer some Twitter options as well.

So, download away and tell all your friends!

Believe it or not 1120 Studios will be around for 9 years this April! With the help of some great people in the music scene, 1120 made its way across the states and even into Europe back in the beginning. 1120 T-shirts and CDs went so many places it amazes me. While over the years it became less of a “company”, 1120 transformed into an outlet for my own art. For some time now I’ve taken on client jobs and designed logos, cds, posters, t-shirts, etc. for many bands and businesses. It helps pay the photography gear bills (and helps purchase a record or two.)
Over the last two years, I’ve really been giving 1120 a push and I’ve been trying to get my name out there more. I’ve always kind of hid behind the name, but now you’ll see ‘Keith Perks’ more. I’m trying to make more contacts, reach more people, and establish myself and my art. It’s tough putting your name out there, but little by little things have been growing and people have been recognizing my work.

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